What is a Chemical Imbalance?

A chemical imbalance is a simplistic way to describe mental illness. Although a chemical imbalance is a contributing factor to mental illness, no evidence exists to prove it is the main cause of mental illness. Calling a mental illness a "chemical imbalance" in an overly simple way of looking at these diseases, and in no way puts the medical community closer to diagnosing and treating the chemical imbalance as well as the behavioral aspects of mental illness.

Features

Put simply, a chemical imbalance is the most often given explanation for psychiatric illnesses that require medication to treat. The imbalance of chemicals can include under activity of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels. Each of these chemicals is a monoamine neurotransmitter, which means they are responsible for sending and receiving signals from neurons to cells. When your body under produces any of these, you suffer from a chemical imbalance.

Effects

A chemical imbalance in the brain can lead to a diagnosis of one of several different mental illnesses. Illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia can all be traced back, in some small form, to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Many symptoms of these mental illnesses are attributed to an imbalance of monoamine neurotransmitters, but the specific neurotransmitter that is underperforming is difficult to diagnose.

Theories/Speculation

Many medical professionals have questioned the validity of the chemical imbalance because there have been no set criteria to determine what the chemical balance of the brain, should be. Without a balance, it is argued, there can be no imbalance. Furthermore, the notion of a chemical imbalance that has been used to treat mental illnesses and disorders is considered oversimplified at best. Although no evidence exists to disprove that chemical imbalances are the sole cause of mental illnesses, no evidence exists to explain why chemical imbalances occur.

Warning

Many mental health professionals have warned against using a chemical imbalance as a catchall for diagnosing mental illness. One of the most serious warnings against this oversimplification is that patients truly suffering from a chemical imbalance in the brain should not be given medication to correct the chemical imbalance without laboratory tests being conducted on each patient's brain chemical levels. Without testing to determine which monoamine neurotransmitters are underperforming, many patients won't receive proper medical assistance. Because there are so many chemicals in the brain, it is difficult to treat a chemical imbalance without knowing which chemicals are over or under-producing.

Prevention/Solution

An imbalance of chemicals in the brain can be treated with prescription medication, however this medication has only been about 50 to 60% effective. Prescription drugs are helpful to treat a chemical imbalance, but many do nothing to treat the other symptoms of mental illness. In addition, the many physical and mental side effects of prescription drugs are often worse than the chemical imbalance. A chemical imbalance is only a small fraction of the cause of many mental illnesses, yet the drugs produced only treat the chemical imbalance in the brain; not the other root causes of the problem.

Resources

• More information on chemical imbalances